Crunchy Asian Chopped Kale Salad
Despite the name of my blog, I've been Slacking (YES, with a capital S) on eating my veggies lately. I think between the stress of moving, having a ton of work to do, Marc working a lot, traveling to Iowa, and with how busy summer gets, I've just had very little time to meal plan and think about making sure everyone in the family eats their greens. I put all of my effort into making sure Lars and Soren get a serving of vegetables on their plates that I forget about myself!
Last week I decided it was time to get back on track. Not just back on track with eating less junk (but, okay, yes that too) but mainly just making sure there is nutrient-dense food on all of our plates. I worked this weekend, which was extra motivation for me to plan a healthy salad for lunches, to avoid the dreaded PB&J.
My original plan was just to make the good 'ol classic Asian Ramen Cabbage Salad, but one thing led to another (as usual) and I was creating my own recipe.
It started with Target being out of the coleslaw mix. No freaking way was I chopped a cabbage on that particular day so I snagged a bag of shredded kale, cabbage, and broccoli. Basically it has the effect of a coleslaw mix but with the added nutritional benefits of broccoli and kale. Winning already!
Then, instead of using a package of ramen noodles for the crunchy part, I used chow mein noodles. Then I added mango and avocado because WHY NOT! I also played around with the dressing until it was absolutely perfect and voila! This Crunchy Asian Chopped Kale Salad will forever and ever have a regular spot in my salad rotation.
Seriously you guys, it is SO good! The dressing is super flavorful with fresh ginger, soy sauce, garlic, and sesame oil among other things. Then the sweet mango, avocado, and crunchy noodles add so many layers of flavor and textures that I just can't even.
This salad was great as a dinner side dish, a lunch main dish, and would be absolutely perfect for a BBQ or potluck dish. Everyone will be begging you for the recipe!
Crunchy Asian Chopped Kale Salad
Ingredients
- 8 cups chopped kale and cabbage*
- 1 cup shelled edamame
- 1 cup chow mein noodles
- 1 avocado diced
- 1 mango peeled and diced
- ½ cup slivered almonds
For the dressing:
- ½ cup rice vinegar
- ⅓ cup grape seed or canola oil
- ⅓ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger minced
Instructions
- Place all salad ingredients in a large bowl.
- Combine dressing ingredients in a mason jar and shake well to combine.
- Add about half of the dressing to the salad, and stir well to combine. Add more dressing, as needed. I ended up using about ¾ total of the dressing. Save the extra for a yummy chicken marinade or additional salad dressing!
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
